Electrically heated fabric



March 1, 1949. J. DALY ELEGTRICALLY HEATED FABRIC Filed July 28, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor John Daly March 1949. J, DALY 2,462,847

ELECTRI CALLY HEATED FABRI C Filed July 28, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 11 ver; tor

March 1, 1949. DALY ELECTRICALLY HEATED FABRIC 4 sheets-sheet Filed July 28, 1947 I uvelztor Johh Daly March l, 1 DALY ELECTRICALLY HEATED `FABRIC 4 sheets-sheet 4 File@ July 2s, 1947 Inventor WW 3m Patented Mar. 1, 1949 ELECTRICALLY HEATED FABRIC John Daly, Asheville, N. C., assigner, by mesne assignments, to Valdale Company, Inc., Hendersonville, N. C., a corporation of North Carolina Application July 28, 1947, Serial No. 764,071

2 Claims. 1

This invention pertains to novel and useful improvements in an electrically heated fabric and more specifically comprises a fabric composition suitable for use in making electrically heated articles such as blankets, clothing, heating pads or the like together with a novel and improved method of making the same.

The principal object of this invention resides in providing a fabric having a detachable woven element secured thereto, which woven element has conveniently attached thereto a flexible electric element.

A further element of the invention resides in providing an improved method of inserting and securing a flexible electrical heating element in a woven fabric; and in providing such a fabric as a detachable component for an electrically heated article.

These, together with various ancillary objects of the invention which will later become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by this device, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated, by Way of example only, in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the manner of applying a leader thread to a woven fabric in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the arrangement of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective View showing a composite fabric with the invention applied thereto, one corner of the same being shown as separated to illustrate the fastening construction thereof;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the fabric;

Figure 5 is an enlarged transverse sectional View taken substantially upon the plane of the section line 5--5 of Figure 4 and illustrating the manner of attaching the flexible heating element to the fabric;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective View showing a suitable form of fastening means for the composite fabric articles; and,

Figure '7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing a detail of the invention.

Referring now more specifically to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, attention is directed first to Figure 3 wherein the numeral I0 designates in its entirety any suitable electrically heated fabric article to which the invention may be applied, such as a heating pad, an electrically heated blanket, an electrically heated material for garments or the like, and which consists of a suitable base material I2 which may be any suitable fabric preferably of a heat insulating nature to which is attached a woven fabric I4 having electrical heating elements embedded therein as set forth hereinafter, which base and cover members are detachably connected by any suitable means such as the well known snap-on fasteners indicated at I6.

Preferably, the electrical heating elements are secured to the surface of the cover member I4 which is adjacent to the base fabric l2, and may be readily removed with the cover member I4, in order to launder or otherwise service the base member I2, or to service or repair the heating elements in the cover member I4.

Obviously, any suitable sewing, zippers, eyelets or other fastening means may be used for removably uniting the base and cover, and as shown in Figure 6, this fastening means I6 may conveniently comprise eyelets IB extending through and formed in marginal seams in the edges 2B of the cover id and cooperating with buttons 22 similarly positioned upon the marginal edges of the base I2.

Attention is next directed to Figures 4 and 5 for a lbetter understanding of the construction of the woven fabric forming the cover member Ill. This fabric preferably consists of a plurality of loosely woven warp threads 24 and weft threads 2E. Certain predetermined of these weft threads as indicated at 28 are iioated above the corresponding warps 24 in order to provide loops 3i) which as indicated clearly in Figure 1 are arranged in evenly spaced rows throughout the area of the fabric.

In order to facilitate insertion of the flexible heating material in the woven fabric I4, the arrangement illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 is provided. For this purpose, a suitable supporting surface such as the top of a table 32 has the above mentioned fabric I4 suitably fastened thereon in any convenient manner, and is provided as shown in Figure '7 with a plurality of By means of this construction the thin flexible heating element may be readily woven into and secured to the cover fabric l and as shown in Figure 5 is carried upon and secured to the side of the cover member which is adjacent to the base member l2.

c By means of the spools or pulleys 3%, the thin heating element 33 may be easily and quickly applied to the fabric from a spool or the like, Without danger of breakage of the heating element throughout its many turns as it is Woven into the fabric.

From the foregoing the construction of the article and the mehod of manufacturing the same will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modications will readily occur to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the foregoing specication and annexed drawings, it is not desired `to limit the invention to the exact construction and method shown and described, but all suitable 'modifications and equivalents may be resorted to falling Within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. The method of manufacturing an electrically heated fabric comprising forzning a fabric of Warp and weft threads, floating predetermined Weit threads to form rows of loops, providing pulleys at opposite ends of each of said rows and entraining a resistance element over said pulleys and through said loops.

2. The method of claim 1 including detachably connecting said fabric to a base with the resistance element facing said base.

` JOHN DALY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

I UNTED STATES PATENTS Number f Name Date 1,594,053 Evans July 27, 1926 1,741,054 Graham Dec. 24, 'i929 1,992,593 Whitney Feb. 26, 1935 

